Tea Party Nation has just blasted out an email blaming Obama for the rising gas prices (login required):

As we close out 2010, gas prices in much of the country crept about the $3 a gallon mark.  In an interview a couple of days ago, the ex-president of Shell oil predicted $5 a gallon gas by 2012. 

He is probably right.

Does anyone remember what Obama said when gas prices shot well over $4 a gallon in 2008?  Then candidate Obama said he did not have a problem with gas being $4 a gallon or more.  His problem was the sudden, sharp rise of the price.  In other words, if the price gradually went up, he would not have a problem with it.

Gas prices were around $1.60 a gallon when George Bush left office.  Bush, by lifting the executive order on off shore drilling, had poked a hole in the speculative bubble that had pushed oil prices to $145 a barrel.   Bush did that in July and by December, oil prices had fallen to $30 a barrel.

Yes Bush did lift the ban, but once again fact it totally amiss with the rabid right. Do they really think that within a few months oil companies built and started operating a bunch of offshore platforms, which caused prices to go down? And if that is the case, why didn’t Bush lift the ban much earlier, when we were seeing gas prices over $4.00/gallon?

I also remember the wingnuts/future tea baggers back then defending the high gas prices. We saw oil companies posting record profits and heard that they deserve it. When Congress wanted answers to the high gas prices, the right started screaming about “government intervention in the free market’. No – high gas prices were not only fine under Bush, they were championed by these same people.

Welcome to the crazies Mr. Strawman.

But I will agree with them on Obama saying $4.00 a gallon gas is “no problem”. A lot of people on the left see high gas prices as a way to help the environment, and while it might help a little it does have a series economic impact on the country. Higher fuel prices means higher transportation prices. That translates into a higher cost for goods, or a bigger bill at the grocery store.

Higher prices isn’t the only problem. What about all the people who have no option but to drive? I am one of those people. I live in the country where not much is within walking distance. There is also no public transportation here and given the crappy job market, some are forced to drive more than 100 miles to work.

This is the problem with people like Obama or the coastal liberals. They live in larger cities with things like public transportation and can easily survive without driving. For middle America that is not possible. Their idea of fixing the environment through high gas prices is not feasible for us liberals outside of major metro area.

What this country needs is a whole new energy policy. We need to stop being held hostage by OPEC, and the person to lead up such an initiative is Bill Richardson. He fought OPEC in the 90’s and won, but the right doesn’t like Richardson, so Obama won’t even think of that option.